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I am currently working on my fathers 1997 Ford Expedition with 201,000 miles, he has asked me to get it running good again so of course I’m thinking maybe it’s sputtering or something but no, this thing needs all of its maintenance items. it’s dead on cylinder 3 so it’s running rough, (and he has been driving 70 miles a day for like the last 3 months like that) this is probably caused by the fact that the spark plugs in it are original from the factory. I’m talking these are 18 year old 201,000 mile plugs, anyways, I’ve heard many stories about the aluminum heads on these stripping out when you try to remove the plugs is there any way to remove these with a bit less risk. Also I’m wondering if it’s possible to clean an oxygen sensor out effectively because I’m getting a code from it.
thanks for y’all’s help
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There was a TSB about certain years of these seeping coolant into the intake manifold at cylinder 7. Not saying you have a problem with that, but you might wanna check the engine number and see if it qualifies for the recall.
Anyway, I’ve never had an issue with these plugs, specifically, stripping out. I have had customers tightening the hell out of the plugs when they install them and destroying the threads. Most stories, like this, that you hear are due to inexperienced people wanting to “save face” so they blame it on the product, or tool, or someone else instead of admitting they screwed up. When a component consistently fails there is usually a recall.
With the engine warm, give the plug a nudge clockwise then loosen it.
When you say, “it’s dead on cylinder 3” did you have a scan tool hooked up to it? What codes does it have?
If you’re talking about the O2 sensor there is really nothing to clean. If you’re getting an O2 sensor code check the in and out voltage at the sensor. If the voltage is good at the sensor you may have a bad Catalytic Converter.I did have a scan tool hooked up and it was giving me a misfire code for cylinder 3 you can feel the engine physically vibrating from the misfire/dead cylinder, this is the windsor 4.6L V8 and what voltage should I be looking for? also I was getting the codes for lean on banks 1 and 2.
I would take care of the misfire first. Cahnge the plugs, delete the codes.
If the misfire code comes back for that cylinder it may be a bad coil pack. Swap the coil on cylinder 3 with one of the others. Erase the codes. If the code comes back, but for a different cylinder you know the coil pack needs to be replaced. If the code comes back for the same cylinder it may be a wiring issue.
After resolving the misfire, delete the codes again and see if any of them come back.
On a vehicle with this many miles you’ll want to clean the throttle body (a dirty throttle body could be contributing to the problem). I suggest taking the throttle body off and cleaning it with a tooth brush and throttle body cleaner.
If the O2 code comes back you should have 12v coming in. As for the other readings you’ll need to consult a service manual. The exact test procedure and readings will vary from vehicle to vehicle.
Be aware that new codes may pop up, at anytime, during this process.
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